Motoko Yasue shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Motoko, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Having energy is the most important to me as it helps me think more clearly and effectively. I believe that without it, neither my intelligence nor integrity would work efficiently and productively.
When I have a hectic day with 10 things to on my plate, I need energy to prioritize what to do and in what order to do things even to work on my art. Also, I’m sometimes an introvert and a shy person when it comes to engaging with other people, so I need energy to push forward to engage with others.
The physical energy in me enhances my mental energy to focus on and accomplish something that is challenging. When I’m overwhelmed with many complicated issues, I often take a small snack so that my brain, through nutrition, better processes things. In addition, at times, I’ll take a short nap to energize myself and regain my focus with intelligence and integrity.
My energy level is boosted when eat and sleep well, and I must admit I am a foodie and love most food but particularly hamburgers, pasta, and potato chips!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
With my imagination fueled by nature, dreams, memories, and life in my native Tokyo, I have developed my artistic career from zero to the present here in Houston while embracing the aesthetics of my home country.
My passion for art brought me with only a suitcase to Houston in 2012 to study fine arts at the Glassell School of Art. Eventually, I earned an AA in Studio Art with highest honors at Houston Community College and an MFA in studio arts at Houston Christian University (HCU) in 2021. I’m currently working as an artist on watercolor, oil painting and 3-D work for upcoming art shows, while also accepting commissioned works. In addition, I serve as an Artist in Residence at Art Museum TX in Sugarland and I’m active with the Watercolor Art Society – Houston.
My artwork has been widely exhibited at area museums, corporate offices and galleries, as well as is part of the permanent collection of the HCU Fine Arts Museum and in a traveling 9/11 memorial exhibit held by the non-profit art organization, Ground Zero 360. Several of my works are also in private collections across the U.S. and in Japan. I have been invited to juried group exhibitions locally and internationally, including in Japan in 2024. In the fall of that year, the HCU Fine Arts Museum held a solo exhibition of my work. Recently, the Houston Jung Center has scheduled a solo exhibit in October, 2026.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I sincerely believe my exposure to the natural beauty of the world has had the largest impact on my art.
The beauty of landscapes and nature is clearly reflected in the colors, tones and subjects of my paintings and sculpture. My exposure to magnificent vistas began as a child living in the quiet suburbs of Tokyo and continued throughout my life as an avid traveler and athlete who embraced the beauty of the mountains, lakes, oceans and landscapes in all four corners of the globe in all four seasons. This early exposure and realization of nature’s beauty, continued with me as I developed a love of painting that gave me the ability to somehow try to create and share that beauty in the form of artwork with my hands.
An example, of particular, that I recall as a child was an experience I had with my dad as we visited an historic shrine in Japan. As we toured through the shrine, we came upon an oculus, circular window. As I peered through the window, I could see the surrounding tranquil settings. This window into nature became a memorable symbol of the passing of life through the oculus moving from the spiritual to the natural and beyond. This oculus symbol has become a somewhat consistent theme in my art hopefully allowing viewers/customers/collectors to consider life in that same spiritual metaphor.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
As long as I remember, I have never given up on anything in life. Somehow, I have always known that I could find a way to overcome any difficult situation. If I can’t find a way, I just accept the struggle, move forward and realize the value in the struggle and learn something from it. That concept and principle is reflected in my art.
My creative process in my art exploits “accidental happenings” as I pour the diluted paint on canvas. I cast fate to the wind, and the strange shapes and colors are accidentally created by gravity. I utilize these elements to generate my imaginary landscape where the process parallels situations in life that we must accept the reality of chance and fate.
However, there was really only one time that I could barely manage well with a situation I found myself in – that was with my mother’s sudden passing away. I visited every single church in Rome day after day trying to find healing for my grief. For me, it symbolized my spirit traveling metaphorically and connecting my thoughts across time and space seeking my mother’s presence throughout the spiritual journey. Later, I eventually recalled this experience along with both fractions of my own childhood memories and scenes in my dreams into my art. The timeless spiritual exploration helped me lessen my grief and became a theme of my art.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
That Art is a critical element of life in the world: I have learned this from my wonderful mentors: The late well-known Houston artist, Arthur Tuner, my professor Michael Collins, my advisor and graduate school mentor, and so many of my art instructors in Houston.
Often times it took much longer, even sometimes a year, for me to finalize one piece of art while others I have completed in a matter of days. It is my nature and personality to always strive to do my best as I work through the creation of a new piece of art realizing that art has distinct power through my hand to touch someone’s heart. That’s my ultimate goal, no matter how long it takes.
Recently, I sent images of my artworks in a solo exhibition to my high school friends, and one of them who had just lost her father sent me a note, “Looking through all your artworks, touched me and gave me solace as I looked at the beautiful colors….they cheered me up and warmed my heart in the wake of my loss.”
It is my wish that my art can provide a moment of hope and tranquility for its viewers in the midst of our busy and complicated world and while we inevitably struggle with the loss of loved ones in our lives and that may my art express my perspective on the universal relationship between life, mortality and nature through the concept that human thoughts travel between the past, present, and future.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I knew my parents always wanted me to be a teacher because it’s an honorable and stable occupation with comes with the financial stability of a good retirement.
Nevertheless, I have ended up being “what I was born to be” – an artist:
When I was about five years old, I drew with oil pastels on all the windows in the house. I remember the feeling was fun while my mother’s devastated face caused me to consider the consequences of my infantile art creations. As she must have pondered how to clean the windows, I now can’t help but wonder if she was more upset about my antics or in a way admiring my drawings on the glass windows. I clearly remember this penchant to paint felt natural to me at a very young age. But I believe due to my mother’s strictness, that was the first and the last time I painted windows. What I remember clearly was how positive I felt with what I drew, colors I used, and this experience actually became a déjà vu in my later years as an artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://motokoyasue.wixsite.com/myart
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motokogloriayasue/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/motoko-yasue-artist/
- Other: https://motoy10285.wixsite.com/my-site-1/portfolio-collections/my-portfolio/a-pilgrimage-into-the-oculus
https://www.saatchiart.com/GloriaMotokoYasue
Image Credits
Motoko Yasue
